Castle: The Date
by Midnite Solistace
Summary: COMPLETE: Kate's secret comes out in a hail of blood and bullets. Det Beckett finds herself in the line of fire, and Castle is damned if he's going to let her get shot a second time.
1. The Date

On a Castle buzz at the moment, not sure how far I'll take it but let me know what you all think. Enjoy :-D

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything, you know the drill.

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><p><strong>The Date<strong>

The world stopped for Detective Beckett at that very moment. Castle fell to the ground with a thud. He had pushed her out of the line of fire and she had stumbled over her 9 inch heels as she fell. Their murder suspect was now lying on the ground with a bullet to his chest thanks to Detective Esposito's bullet, which had been fired only a moment too late. She couldn't hear any background noise, she couldn't focus on anything now except the man lying on the ground gasping for breath. She was beside him in an instant. His blood was everywhere. Very quickly it had stained her hands as she tried to compress his wound.

"Castle, why did you do that?" She asked him desperately as she tried to stem the blood but it was everywhere. She heard Ryan behind her calling for an ambulance.

"Kate?" he coughed." His eyes began to close over as Rick began to lose consciousness.

"No!" She told him angrily. "Don't you dare Castle, don't you dare leave me like this." She got Javi to take over pressing down on Castle's bullet wound. She checked that he was still breathing, and when she found that he wasn't she tried to hold composure. "Ryan, how far away is that ambulance?" She tilted his head back, making sure he had a clear airway and began CPR.

"ETA, ten minutes." Detective Ryan told her.

As she paused mouth-to-mouth to start compressions she told him "tell them I want it in five."

"Just hold on Bro, " Esposito told him as he knelt there. He kept looking at Beckett, wondering how she was keeping herself so together. She continued CPR solidly for the eight minutes it took paramedics to reach them. She was later told that it had kept him alive.

"I'm coming with him in the ambulance." Kate told the paramedics and they knew better than to argue. She grasped his hand as they drove to the hospital. "Just hold on Rick, please." Tears slid down her cheeks before she could stop them. Was this how he had felt when he rode with her in the ambulance after Montgomery's funeral? He wasn't even supposed to have been there. This was all her fault.

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><p>They had had a fight. It was all so stupid. The fourth installment in the Nikki Heat books was almost ready for release and Rick asked her to come with him to a pre-launch party.<p>

"You want me to come with you to the launch of Frozen Heat?" She clarified a few days earlier. It was Friday night and they had just wrapped up a case and were on their way home for the night.

"Not the book launch no, but a get-together of those in the business, to basically promote the book launch." Castle tried to downplay the importance of the night. Beckett was easily spooked when it came to public events. They stepped into the elevator.

"But I'm not in the business."

"I know, but as the inspiration for Nikki Heat, I'm sure you would have a lot to talk about."

"Are you asking me to promote your new book Castle?"

"No, I'm not, look it was a dumb idea just forget it. I just thought that maybe you could use a night out, dress up, have a few wines, let loose."

She touched his arm gently. "Wait a minute, are you asking me to come along as your date?"

Rick's eyes lit up. "Would you be opposed to the idea?"

"I'm not sure I would use the word 'opposed'. Apprehensive perhaps. Then again, we are friends, friends can go on dates can't they?"

"Yes, my dear Detective. Yes they can." Castle was looking as giddy as a schoolboy.

"Remember Castle, friends. That's all this is."

"I'll pick you up tomorrow night, seven good for you?"

"I'll see you then." They exited the elevator, Beckett first as usual. And he couldn't stop staring at her as she walked a few steps in front of him. She had agreed to a date. Finally.

Saturday night was a completely different story. Beckett had a long bath, did her hair up in tight ringlets, her makeup flawlessly, and slipped on a little black dress. She paced nervously across her apartment and began to think up all the reasons why tonight was a bad idea.

Castle was early. He knocked on the door in eager anticipation and when Kate opened the door, his breath caught in his throat. She looked gorgeous.

"Castle...you're early."

"I know, but better to be early than late right?"

"I was just about to call you..." She trailed off.

"What's wrong?" Castle's brow furrowed.

Beckett brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, trying to buy her a few more seconds.

"I'm sorry, I can't come with you tonight."

His face dropped. "But you're all dressed up, you look stunning by the way."

"Thank you. Look I'm not feeling well, I had some Chinese for lunch that's been sitting in my fridge for a while. I got ready really early and I was feeling ok, but now, I just want to crawl into something comfy and hop into bed. I'm so sorry." She was lying to him, and Kate felt terrible. A part of her wanted to go with him, but a part of her was still scared of finally crossing that line.

"Look I don't have to go tonight, if you like I could stay with you for a while, make sure you don't need any help, there's nothing worse than food poisoning."

"That's sweet of you Castle, but you should go to your party. They're expecting you."

"There are things that are more important. "

"I already feel terrible, please don't make me feel worse." She protested.

"I insist."

Kate huffed at him. So Castle relented, only a little. "Look, I'll just stay for an hour, and then if you're feeling ok, I'll go to my party."

She smiled, surely Beckett could pull this off for an hour. Kate led him inside, sat him on the couch with a glass of wine while she retreated into the bathroom to remove her makeup...she had to at least look ill. Beckett emerged ten minuted later wearing a singlet, cardigan and tracksuit pants. Her make-up was wiped off and hair had been pulled out to cascade down her shoulders. Rick still couldn't help but think she still looked gorgeous.

"Feeling better?" He asked her as she sat down next to him.

"Much better, thank you." She folded her legs up to her chest and sipped a glass of water.

Two hours later and Kate was so relaxed in Castle's company she had almost forgotten that she was supposed to be ill. Castle wasn't an idiot and he very quickly worked it out. A part of him wanted to let it go, but a part of him couldn't let go the fact that she had stood him up on a date and lied about it.

"I'd better make a move or else there won't be a lot of point in going. It's a shame I couldn't show you off in that dress." Castle stood up from the couch.

"Yeah, Lanie helped pick it out at lunch today."

"Oh yeah, what did you have?" He had caught her now and Kate realised her mistake straight away.

"Obviously not Chinese, I'm sorry Castle."

The expression on his face was clear, Castle was hurt. "Why Kate? You didn't want to come to the party, but you didn't have to lie."

"I don't know what to tell you, I panicked."

"At the thought of going on a date with me?"

"No, I guess at the thought of being somewhere so public with you, on a date. Everyone watching and analysing everything I say."

Castle sat back down on the couch. They were going to talk through this. "You're in public with me every day at the precinct, and everyone listens to what you say, how is that any different?"

"You know it's different Castle." Beckett ran her hands through her hair.

"Because it's a date? That's what scares you?"

"I want to go on a date with you Rick." Her sudden admission startled him. "And not just as friends." The words had started coming out of her mouth so she thought she may as well have kept going.

Rick wasn't entirely sure how to proceed, so he opted for a simple "Ok..."

"But once we open that box, there's no going back. I want it to work, if it didn't work, I'm not sure if we could ever go back to what we have now."

"You're still not ready." Rick sighed, not angrily, just disappointed.

"I want to be, Rick. You have been so patient with me, and I can't even be honest with you."

"Don't beat yourself up, you told a white lie to get out of a party."

He was being so amazing she had to come clean. It was now or never. "It's not fair on you to start something under false pretences. I've been lying to you since I woke up in the hospital." A single tear slid down her cheek.

Castle knew exactly what she meant. "You heard what I said."

"But I didn't want to listen. I have been such a mess."

"I'm going to go." He stood up, completely shell-shocked. He began to walk away.

"I love you." It came out strong, clear, confident, like she really meant it.

It stopped it in his tracks. "I think you and I have a very different idea of what love is." He didn't turn to look at her, he just left. He walked out the door and down the stairs without stopping, because the moment he stopped he would completely fall apart.

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><p>The next time she saw him was when he unexpectedly turned up at an arrest. She had tried calling him but when he didn't respond she knew she would have to give him space the same way he had done for her. That was two weeks ago. Detectives Beckett, Ryan and Esposito went to speak to a suspect about some things that just didn't add up. They never expected an arrest so they weren't wearing their bullet-proof vests. The suspect turned paranoid and violent when he realised they were on to him and he pulled out a gun. Castle had walked in sometime in the middle of everything, Beckett hadn't even noticed. When she did notice that he was standing right next to her it was far too late, the suspect had pulled a gun, Kate hadn't had a chance to pull hers and neither had Ryan. Esposito had his aimed and ready. Kate started to visibly shake as the gun was aimed at her, she was defenceless. The bullets went off and Kate was on the ground and Rick was bleeding out on the floor. It was all her fault.<p> 


	2. The Waiting Room

**AN: **Wow! I'm not sure if I have had a more positive response for one of my stories before...ever. I want to thank everyone so much. Castle fans are the greatest aren't they? This next chapter came out so quickly in part because of the brilliance that was Once Upon A Crime, I completely fan-girled over it. Please enjoy, I reckon I'll get about four chapters total from this.

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><p><strong>The Waiting Room<strong>

Kate sat in the Hospital waiting room, hunched over, trying to breath evenly. Javi had his arm around her, it was all he could do, he felt helpless. Castle was his friend, but Beckett, she was like his sister and he knew just how badly she was hurting. The lurking threat that he might not make it out of surgery alive was tearing her apart. Lanie got there as quickly as she could. She rushed over to Kate and hugged her. Esposito scooted over for her.

"Honey...I'm so sorry."

Kate hugged her back so tightly. "Thank you."

"What do we know, what have the surgeons said?"

"It's still too early."

"Has anyone called his family?" She asked everyone present.

"They're on their way." Ryan replied. He had called them after the ambulance had pulled away from the crime scene. No sooner had he said it the group heard the clicking of heels running down the sterile corridor. Martha and Alexis came hurtling around the corner, both of them looking as white as a ghost. Alexis locked onto Beckett and marched straight up to her, nostrils flaring and eyes wild.

"This is your fault! How could you let this happen?"

"Hey, we know you're upset, but it was an accident, you weren't there." Esposito stepped in between the two women trying to defuse the situation.

"Javi, it's ok." Kate told them.

"This is not ok!" The redhead shouted. "My Dad would have done _anything _for you. _This_, this is how you repay him?"

"Alexis Castle." Martha used the strongest tone she could given the circumstances.

She spun around and looked at her Grams.

"That's enough. You are not the only one who loves that man in there. God forbid that Richard doesn't make it out of surgery alive he would not want us to blame the woman he loves for what happened today. He would want us all to comfort and support each other."

Kate broke down again at Martha's speech and Lanie kept hugging her tightly.

Martha led Alexis to the opposite side of the room to sit down but not before the young woman looked over her shoulder and addressed the NYPD Detective one last time. "If he dies, I will _never _forgive you for this."

"She's right." Kate whispered to Lanie. "What happens if he dies?"

"Honey, he is not gonna die, he's far too stubborn to do that."

Four harrowing hours later a surgeon came out to the waiting room. Everybody looked up, and Martha and Alexis stood quickly.

"Surgery went very well. Mr Castle was incredibly lucky. The bullet was originally aimed at chest height, but seeing as he dove into the trajectory it went in on a diagonal, and missed his heart. It did graze a lung, and that I'm afraid will take a long time to fully heal. That shut down his ability to breath for a time, and whoever gave him CPR at the scene kept him holding on just long enough. He can't breathe on his own just yet and will need to stay on a ventilator for some time. It's early days but overall, my outlook is positive."

Everybody in the room had been holding their breath and their sighs of relief all came at once.

"We are just setting him up in ICU, I'm afraid only family will be allowed in until we transfer him to a ward."

"I'm his mother and this is his daughter Alexis." Martha told the surgeon as they stepped forward. She looked over her shoulder and asked "Are you coming Kate?"

She looked at the older woman with a startled look on her face.

"I'm sorry what is the relationship to the patient?"

Martha gave Kate a re-assuring smile before turning back to the surgeon. "This is Kate, she is Richard's...partner of four years." Kate walked up to stand by Martha's side slowly and unsteadily.

Beckett would never find a way to repay Martha's kindness at that moment, bending the truth to get her into ICU like that.

"Alright well he can only have two visitors at a time. One of you will need to wait."

"You go ahead Alexis, I'll wait out here with Kate."

Alexis was livid and Martha thought she might just let the truth out, but she didn't, instead following the surgeon into her father's room without a word.

Kate turned to Martha. "I don't even know what to say."

"I don't blame you Detective, Richard knew the risks. Just promise me that you two will just come clean with each other. Life is short, and I wasn't born yesterday. I know how deeply you two care for one another and I just want my son to be happy. When he's not by your side, he's not happy. I know you love him, and you've both been given another chance here, for god sake's don't blow it."

Esposito turned to Lanie and touched her lightly on the shoulder to get her attention. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." She even gave him a small smile.

"Deja Vu right?" He asked her.

"A little bit yeah, kind of gets you thinking..."

"...About how life can be cut short just like that?" He finished her sentence for her.

Lanie just looked at him and said his name in an uncertain tone. "Javier..."

"Beckett and Castle are stupid, they've waited too long to talk about what's important."

"So what is important to you Detective?" Her question was sly and she flashed him a smile that he hadn't seen from her in a long time.

Esposito was just about to answer Lanie when Ryan walked up to them.

"Gate's just called me. She said if Castle's ok we need to get back to the 12th and explain why she has a dead body on her hands instead of a murder suspect."

Esposito just looked at Ryan with a look of disbelief, his timing could not have been worse. "Did you tell her that Beckett's staying here?"

Ryan suddenly looked a tad uncomfortable. "You tell her."

Javi turned back to Lanie, "Excuse me..." She gave him a light pat on the hand.

He stood up and brushed past Kevin's shoulder. "Shot bro." He told him sarcastically.

The two women waited until Alexis came out before the entered. She had told them he was still sleeping and the doctors thought it would be a while before he woke up. When Kate went in with Martha she got the fright of her life. He was pale as a ghost and hooked up to so many machines. Was this what she had looked like?

"Oh Richard." Martha said sadly before giving his hand a quick squeeze. Kate sat down in one of the chairs without saying a word. There wasn't a lot that could be done now except wait. After fifteen minutes Martha stood up. "I'm going to take Alexis home, you should try and get some rest, the coming days are not going to be easy."

"Martha?" She grabbed the older woman's attention, who turned and looked. "Thank you."

Kate slipped off her heels, and leaned back in the hard, stiff hospital chair. It was going to be a tough night, but she wasn't leaving.

Overnight the doctor's warmed Castle's temperature up, making him look less ghostly and the doctor's said there was a good chance he would wake up soon. Kate slept as much as she could. Alexis came back and Kate would use the opportunity to get coffee and go to the bathroom. Alexis wouldn't speak to her, would hardly even acknowledge she was even in the room. She sat down in the toilet stall, scrolled through the contacts on her phone until she found her Dad. She took a deep breath as she dialled.

"Katie?"

"Hi Dad. I was just calling to say hi, and that I love you."

"Katie what's wrong, what's happened?"

"It's Rick...he got shot..." She tried to keep her composure but sometimes a girl just needs to cry to her Dad. She explained what had happened, and that he was out of surgery.

"Do you need me to come to the hospital?"

"No, honestly, that's ok. I'll come see you when I get a chance."

Martha was going to come back that evening, she knew how these things usually went and knew it would be some time before Richard would be fully coherent. It was mid-afternoon when Castle opened his eyes for the first time since the shooting. The first thing he saw was Kate asleep in the chair, her hair was a mess, she was still wearing the same clothes as the last time he had seen her. She hadn't left this whole time. When Beckett woke up a couple of hours later there had been no signs of change, Rick's eyes were still closed. Martha came in, and convinced her to go home, eat a decent meal, get cleaned up.

"I will call you the minute he wakes up."

When Kate arrived back two hours later Martha was still there, and this time Rick was awake, very groggy, but coherent at least.

"Rick?" It blurted out from her lips before she had a chance to stop it. She rushed straight to his bedside.

He looked straight at her. "Beckett." The use of only her last name wasn't lost on her, she couldn't remember the last time he had addressed her so nonchalantly. The smile came off her face as fast as it had slipped on.

"I can understand if you don't want to see me, I can go, give you some time with your family."

"Actually dear, I was just leaving." She told Kate before turning to her son. "I'll see you later Richard." She patted his arm.

"Goodnight Mother." He said softly.

When the two of them were alone, she sat down slowly. "Hi."

"I was just about to go to sleep for the night." He couldn't face her right now.

"You don't have to talk to me right now, but if it's alright with you I'm going to sit here all the same. Please don't ask me to leave."

"Please yourself." His demeanour was cool and he closed his eyes.

Kate sat back in the stiff hospital chair and pulled out her worn copy of Heat Wave and opened it up to the first page.

"_to the extraordinary KB and all my friends at the 12th_." This was going to be a long night.


	3. The Ward

**AN:** I'm sorry, everybody, about the wait, but I've been laid out with the flu. Hopefully this will more than compensate :-D I can't thank everyone enough who has reviewed and followed this one, it makes this such a fantastic fandom to write for! Special thanks to "purplangel" for pointing out the breathing tube, I should know that, recently watched my mother-in-law go through heart surgery.

Enjoy, and review if you have nice things to say, or constructive too, I welcome both. Will be one more chap after this I think, then I'm going to start a new Castle idea so stay tuned :-D

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><p><strong>The Ward<strong>

The next morning Kate was awake early, well before Castle. It was his third day in ICU and the doctor had come in during the early hours and removed his breathing tube, his lungs were doing well, thank god he wasn't a smoker. The doctor came in and talked about his progress, if he could breathe comfortably on his own steadily then they would look at moving him into a ward in the afternoon. When Castle woke up around seven he considered speaking to Beckett and then decided to pick up the stack of papers that were sitting next to his bed that either Alexis or Martha had brought in for him. The papers contained final changes for _Frozen Heat_ in them before it went to print, which Gina had managed to push back by a couple of weeks or so due to the shooting.

"Good morning Castle." She addressed him, and his response was a raised eyebrow and a turn of his pages. "So they're moving you into a ward this afternoon. That's good news. It must feel better having that tube out?"

His silent treatment carried on this way for half an hour and Kate sat there and took it. At seven thirty Alexis came in to see her dad before heading off for her internship. She walked briskly into the room and stopped short in the doorway when she saw Kate was still there.

"Hello, Alexis." Kate offered but instead of a response Alexis walked straight over to the bed.

"Hi Dad." She leant down and kissed him on the cheek.

"Hello sweetheart." He responded very warmly. Kate excused herself and walked out of the ICU and heard Alexis say "What's she still doing here? She's not even family" as she did so.

Kate left it until Alexis left at eight to re-enter Rick's room. She waved her cell at him. "I'm gonna head into the Precinct, Gate's is on my back. If I want any more time off from work I need to go apply for it, so if there's any point in asking for some more time off...then I will." She studied his face carefully but he didn't give anything away. "Alright, well I'll see you this afternoon once you're settled into the ward. Gates also wants to talk to me about why you were at the suspect's questioning when you weren't even working the case." She was trying to push his buttons and when it didn't work she raised her voice a little. "Why were you there Castle? One minute you won't return my calls and the next you're showing up unannounced and getting shot!" She threw her arms up exasperated.

"I showed up because I thought we would just do what we always do. Something will happen between us, and then we'll pretend like nothing has changed, everything goes back to the way it was. I showed up to the precinct, found out you were on a case so I went to meet you there."

"Are you serious?" How is it that she can read just about every criminal in New York City when they're inside her interrogation room but when it comes to this man she can't crack him?

"We've been locked in a freezer, a sinking car in the Hudson, you've been shot, I've been shot, you're apartment was blown up while you were inside it, I've been held hostage during a bank robbery...that's just to name a few." Castle's voice stayed calm and steady the whole time, he showed no emotion.

"I'll just tell Gates that I have no idea why you do what you do. It's not exactly a lie. I'll see you later."

She knew he had a point, her history with Castle had been complicated at best. All Kate wanted to do know is fix it, lord only knows how she was supposed to do that.

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><p>Kate knocked on the door of Captain Gate's office and poked her head around the doorway.<p>

"Excuse me Sir?"

Victoria Gates looked up from her stack of paperwork.

"Ah, Detective Beckett, please, come in."

"I realise this is inconvenient but I would really appreciate some more time..."

"I want to know why Mr Castle was at my murder suspect's house." Gates cut her off.

Kate opened her mouth to answer but Gates got in first. "I want to know how the situation escalated so quickly that bullets were fired, and I want to know why a civilian would take a bullet for a police officer who has sworn an oath to protect New York City."

Kate opened her mouth again but Gates jumped in once again. "Think very carefully before you answer Detective."

"Sir, Castle may be a civilian, he might not carry a badge but he is my partner, and if the situation was reversed, I would put myself in between him and a bullet every time."

"Explain to me why there were shots fired."

"Sir, Detectives Ryan and Esposito should have completed their incident reports by now."

"I want your version."

"We went for a routine questioning of a suspect, if he gave us the answers we were looking for we were then going to arrest him and bring him in for an interrogation. Unfortunately we didn't get that far and the suspect pulled a gun mid-questioning."

"I'm still confused as to how a suspect could pull a gun on three police officers without any of you noticing in time to pull your own weapons."

Gates had a point there. It had all happened so fast and Beckett tried to think back over it carefully.

"The suspect was standing behind a desk, and we were all standing on the opposite side, I heard footsteps entering the room from a door behind us. I turned to look just for a moment, but before I saw who it was I heard Esposito yell for the suspect to "freeze" I looked back and saw the gun. That was all I saw, for a good moment or so and then somebody pushed me out of the way. It wasn't until I saw Castle fall that I realised the footsteps I had heard were his."

"Why was he there?"

"I don't know why he showed up."

Gates folded her hands on top of her desk in a no-nonsense manner. "Are we going to have a problem Detective?"

"Excuse me?"

"Mr Castle didn't show up here for two weeks and then magically he decides to show up out of the blue, I understand the two of you had some sort of quarrel."

"I'm not sure where you're going with this."

"I'm sure I don't need to tell you that romantic relationships between two of my people is unconventional. They put lives at risk and I have no room for them in my Precinct. Do I make myself clear?"

Beckett was shocked but she tried to keep her facial expressions in check. "With all due respect Captain, I'm not that foolish, and I guess it's a good thing that you don't consider Rick one of your people."

"Rick?" Victoria Gates didn't miss a beat.

_Shit..._"Sir, do I have permission to take leave or not?"

"Permission granted Detective, the forms are already sitting on your desk waiting to be signed, oh and wish Mr Castle a speedy recovery."

"Thank you." Beckett couldn't get out of her office fast enough.

As she got out into the bullpen Ryan and Esposito walked up to her.

"Hey, how's he doing?" Ryan asked.

"They're moving him to a ward this afternoon, so the two of you should go and visit, I'm sure he'd like to see you."

Esposito noticed her avoidance of actually answering Ryan's question. "And how are you? The two of you work things out?"

"That's something you'll have to ask him about."

"I'm asking you."

"I don't know!" She snapped at him, but immediately regretted it. "Alright?" Beckett sighed. "I'm sorry. Look I have to go, but I'll fill you both in when I get a chance."

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><p>Beckett took the opportunity to go home and think about things. It felt like everybody was trying to push her and Castle together, romantically, hell even Gate's had noticed. They may love each other, but sometimes that love isn't enough. He was trying to make her jump through hoops at the moment, maybe she deserved it, but he's the one who just showed up at the suspect's house. She had a nap, and a shower before driving back to the hospital.<p>

Beckett found Castle's ward fairly easily and bumped into Martha in the hallway.

"Martha, how is he?"

"Richard is good, actually I'm glad you're here, let's go and have a chat, woman-to-woman."

Beckett found herself becoming increasingly anxious as Martha led her to the hospital cafeteria. The two women got a coffee each and sat down at a table.

"Martha, I can't thank you enough for getting me into ICU the way you did."

"Stop, please, dear." The older woman reached over and touched the girl's hand, silencing her.

"What's this about Martha?"

"My son is stubborn, I'll give him that much. Please, don't give up on him now. I know he's being rather distant towards you."

"He'll barely speak to me. He's angry, I know that."

"Richard came home that night, after he had been to your apartment. I knew he was supposed to have been at his party so I asked him what he was doing. He told me, about what you had said, that you remembered your shooting. He was a mess."

"Martha..." Kate tried to cut in, explain, but Martha continued.

"I let him mope around for a day or so, thinking he would work through it on his own. After one week he would snap at me if I brought your name up, but after two, I told him to wake up and smell the coffee. The woman that he has been waiting for, for the past four years had finally admitted that she feels the same way and he was sitting on the couch sulking. I made him realise he was going to lose the best relationship he had ever had."

"And then what happened?"

"I told him to go get you! That's why he went to the precinct the other day, any other story he tries to spin you is rubbish."

"Then why is he acting like he can't even look at me?"

"I think the problem is now that he's angry with himself. He was talking to me before. He knows he distracted you at the scene of the shooting, you couldn't pull your gun and he pushed you without hesitating. You had always told him that one day he would find himself on the wrong end of a gun which is why you used to handcuff him to your car. He's blaming it on himself, but taking it out on you."

Kate was smiling so wide by now, trying not to laugh. "But that was so long ago. Castle's come so far since then, yes I used to handcuff him to my car but that's before he knew any better, and for his own protection. Now, I feel...strange if he's not with me during an arrest." She felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders. "Does Alexis know any of this?"

Martha frowned. "No, and that girl needs a talking to."

"I understand why she's acting the way she is. I know how much Rick means to her, he's her Dad. I lost my Mom, if Rick was killed, because of me...I would hate me as well."

"Alexis needs to accept the fact that this is Richard's choice, not hers. And if the two of you decide that you want to take your relationship further, then she will need to deal with that too."

"Martha I..." Kate was turning red now.

"Oh now, I've seen the way you two crazy kids look at each other."

"We do have a lot to talk about." She tried to use a tone to let Martha know not to get her hopes up, but Castle's mother would have none of it.

"Then go get cracking." Martha waved her arms about, ushering Kate to head back down the hall towards her son's room.

As she walked down the hospital corridor, Kate couldn't stop smiling. She was better prepared now and was not going to leave his room until they had sorted this mess out.

* * *

><p>"Hey Castle." She greeted him cheerfully as she sat down beside his bed.<p>

"Beckett." His tone was mildly friendlier but not by much, he was still trying to be cross with her.

"I've just had coffee with your mother, which was...interesting." She picked her choice of words carefully.

"Oh yes, what did she have to say for herself?"

She reached over and touched his arm. He tensed up, but didn't pull away.

"Rick, this wasn't your fault. Blame the guy that pulled the trigger, not yourself. You saved my life...again. What are we up to now, fifteen times you've saved me?"

"That's what you were talking about?" He wasn't letting her off that easy.

"If I had just come clean with you months ago, we wouldn't be in this situation, but if I had, I wouldn't be in the position to tell you that your feelings are reciprocated."

"You've only just decided that you love me, a couple of weeks ago?" Castle was sceptical.

"No of course not." What was wrong with her? Kate's feelings were slipping out before she could mentally grab hold of them. "I fell in love with you a long time ago, I just never wanted to admit it to anyone, let alone myself. The timing was never right either, when you left to go to the Hampton's for the summer, I broke up with Demming so I could take you up on your offer but you'd just gotten back with Gina.""

"Seriously, you broke it off with Demming to come to the Hampton's with me?"

She nodded. "And then I started seeing Josh..."

"Don't remind me."

"And then of course the whole thing happened with Montgomery, and my Mom's case, I was in no state to start anything."

"But you're magically ready now?"

"I had to pass a psych eval to be allowed back to work after my shooting, but I kept going back to see my therapist. He's been helping me work through a lot of issues, especially after that case with the sniper. I've come a long way Castle."

"I know you have Kate."

She smiled, that's the first time he had used her first name since he had woken up.

"I thought you didn't want to try anything until after you closed your Mom's case. I don't want to push you, I've waited this long I can keep waiting."

Kate took a deep breath. "My Mom's case might never get closed. I've had to accept that. I don't want to miss out on living my life because I'm waiting for something that might never happen."

"So what now?"

"I was thinking that once they discharge you, we could go away for a couple of days, have some time by ourselves, see if we can make this work without wanting to kill each other?"

"I think that's a great idea."

Kate climbed up onto the empty side of his hospital bed and draped one arm over his chest, hugging him. "But for now I just want to make the most of the fact that you're still alive."

He hugged her back, tightly. How long had they been waiting for this? "That's thanks to you I hear, prolonged CPR, you didn't give up on me."

"Not a chance. You forgot the tiger by the way, in your earlier list of near-death experiences."

"So now who's keeping score?" He teased.

They stayed like that for hours until Kate began to drift off to sleep. Castle nudged her.

"Hey, go home, get some rest, I'll still be here in the morning."

"And nothing will have changed, right? I know you have a daughter who won't approve of this."

"Alexis will come round. I'll talk to her. But as for you and me, Kate, we've taken that step, no turning back now. Promise me?"

"I promise." She smiled.

He kissed her on the forehead gently. "Go home."

"Kay...Castle" She really was sleepy. "See you in the morning?"

"Always."


	4. The Loft

**AN: **In honour of the most amazing sneak peeks for the season finale I just had to finish this. Please be warned there are adult themes ahead. This chapter is R rated *wink wink*.

Please R&R, enjoy and finish all the love I've had from this story with a bang.

* * *

><p><strong>The Loft<strong>

Kate woke up the next morning feeling more refreshed than she had in a long time. She broke into a grin from ear to ear when she remembered that her and Castle were actually going to attempt something real. Still lying in bed she reached for her cell phone to text him only to find a one from him ready and waiting for her.

_Good mrning Detective, was thnkng bout u all nite. Cnt wait to c u xoxo_

She rolled flat on her back, still smiling widely, she felt like a teenager. Why had she waited so long to take this chance with him? Beckett showered and dressed in record time so she would have more time to do her hair and makeup.

When she got to his room in the ward Kate was still smiling.

"Kate." He greeted her, it seemed Rick couldn't stop smiling too.

"Hey. Sleep well?"

"Very well." He answered. "You're looking radiant this morning."

She blushed, much to her embarrassment. "Thanks, so...I've been thinking that we should set some ground rules."

"I couldn't agree more."

"Well, first, at the Precinct, we need to act like utmost professionals. If Gates gets wind of this...she already suspects something."

"She's a very switched on lady, I'm not surprised."

"What does that mean?"

"Well with the way you flirt with me I mean."

"Pfft...Castle since when do I flirt with you?"

"All the time."

"Look, I'm serious, professional; Castle, I hope you know what that means."

"I wouldn't expect you to be anything less. Look, Alexis came in this morning and I had a word to her."

"The last thing I want to be is the wicked step-mother Castle, I actually like Alexis, I always have."

"I know, she likes you too...her attitude has always been about my safety. Besides my mother, I'm all the family she has, her and Meredith are worlds apart. She wants me to be happy, and I've told her that you make me happy. Alexis will be going to college soon and she'll have other things to focus on. Give it some time and I'm sure it will work itself out."

"So have you thought any more about where we might go once you get out of here?" Kate inadvertently changed the subject.

"How about a few days in the Hamptons? Just the two of us?"

"That sounds really good."

"Gates going to let you off work?" He teased.

"Believe it or not Castle she's not completely heartless." She rubbed his arm. "Speaking of work, I'm going to head over, just to finish some paperwork so that I've got no loose ends when we go away. Maybe do some packing too."

"I'll see you later?"

"You bet." Kate leaned over and kissed Rick softly on the cheek. He smiled. It was the first real kiss she had given him, gentle and soft, he could read her just like one of his books. She was still scared as hell.

* * *

><p>Beckett finished up all of her paperwork fairly quickly while all the while receiving odd glances from Ryan and Esposito. "Can I help you?" She asked smartly when they looked over at her for the umpteenth time.<p>

The two detectives glanced at each other before responding, "no" in unison.

"Don't the two of you have a homicide to solve?" She shot them an annoyed look as she walked past their desk once she had finished. How did they know? She made her way down to the morgue and poked her head round the door at Lanie. "You have a minute?"

Lanie glanced back at her. "Girl, get in here." She sat Beckett down on her empty morgue table. "Now spill."

"I'm not sure what you mean." For a cop she was a terrible liar.

"Oh come on, you're finally on with Castle?"

"You told Ryan and Esposito?"

"No. I didn't. They happened to be in here when my intern burst in saying she had to tell me something. Now she got it straight from the writer's mouth this morning. I kicked Daphne and Velma out but I can't control what they hear through the door."

Kate smirked at Lanie's use of Scooby-Doo nicknames, especially since she referred to them as the girls of the group. "Ok, we're going away for a few days, just the two of us, once he's out of the hospital."

"Oh Beckett, I'm so proud of you..."

"I need your help Lanie. How do you go from being professional colleagues to…..you know?"

"You want to know how you start sleeping with someone without it getting weird?"

"How did you and Espo handle it?."

"Girl, you and Castle have been in a relationship in every way, minus the sex for four years now, if the two of you can't work out how to get into bed together by now, I am not helping you figure it out."

"You've been so much help." She told Lanie sarcastically.

"Look, I get what you're saying, but me and Javi didn't really have that problem, we don't spend every minute of our day together. Not that it really matters anymore anyway."

"I still think you two should try and work it out."

Lanie raised her eyebrow and stared Beckett down. "You...are trying to tell me…who I should be with?" That was the pot calling the kettle black. "Ok you want my advice? Just grab him, and kiss him. Don't think about it just do it. The rest will just come naturally."

Castle's ears must have been burning because at that exact moment Beckett's phone began to ring, and his face popped up on the caller ID.

"Hey Castle….Rick," she corrected herself. Man this was going to take some getting used to.

"Hey, they're gonna let me outta here, I thought you might like to come get me, we could swing by the loft so I can pack and then we might as well head straight out to the beach house."

She was grinning ear to ear. "That sounds perfect; I'll see you in a few."

Lanie was smirking at her friend. "Remember, grab and kiss."

* * *

><p>Lanie's words were all Kate could think about on the drive over to Castle's loft. She was so quiet during the drive he was beginning to worry that she had changed her mind. When they got inside she decided to just go for it.<p>

"Rick?" She wanted to get his attention

"Yeah?" He turned around to face her and she made her move. Throwing herself straight into it her hand intertwined with the hair on the back of his head and her face inched closer towards his. Before he could fathom what was happening her lips were on his, hungry, and eager. He kissed her back with a hunger that was just as deep. His hands moved to her hips and held her close. It was just as hot and heavy as the kiss they shared while undercover. When Kate pulled away for air he had to ask her.

"Exactly how slow are we taking things?"

"I think four years is slow enough…"

That was all he needed to hear and he was back kissing her. Castle thought they might have at least waited till they were alone and uninterrupted in the Hamptons but in a way it was fitting that their first time would be in his loft.

Rick moved from her lips down to the crook of her neck, latching on to that sensitive spot that made her start moaning. His hands were already moving downward to her jeans, and finding what he was looking for. His fingers settled over the curve that was radiating the most heat and began to rub sharply causing friction between the denim and her skin.

She gasped. "Bedroom. Now." He paused to make sure they were home alone. "Alexis…Mother, are you home?" Neither of them dared to make a sound, but when all they could hear in return was pure silence he lifted her up and she locked her legs around him. He carried them to his room, knocking over a table lamp as he did so. He lay her on his bed softly and took a moment to absorb everything that was happening. Kate's hair was dishevelled, her lips parted, a look of anticipation crossed her eyes. God she was gorgeous. He lay down on top of her and began to remove her blouse. She slid out of it and reached down to unbutton her jeans when he stopped her hand.

"Let me." He removed them slowly, revealing her legs that could go on forever. Once Kate was left in nothing but her black lace underwear Castle removed his shirt before leaning back down on top of her, He kissed her hard and fast, but their tongues were enjoying a slow dance, especially when Rick's fingers crept underneath the lace and slid inside of her. She raised her hips up, allowing him full access, gasping as she did so. He smiled against her lips, eliciting moans from her with every movement of his two fingers. God she was tight, and that was just with his fingers. He would have to prepare her well for the main event. He moved lower down her body so he could settle between her legs. She knew what was coming next and couldn't believe how lucky she was. No man had ever paid her this much attention in the bedroom before. She bit her lip to keep from crying out as his tongue ran across her, his lips sucking on the most sensitive part of her. When he slid a finger back inside her at the same time she just about lost it.

"Rick!" She cried out in pure ecstasy.

She was soaking wet and tasted amazing. He knew she was close and was determined to get her to orgasm before he had taken off his pants. It didn't take much longer and she was gasping his name and bucking her hips into his mouth. He continued to kiss her as she came down from her orgasm, breathing deeply and flashing the most stunning smile when he looked up at her. He finally came up from her thighs and lay down next to her for a moment giving her time to recover.

"There are no words to describe what you just did to me."

"I'll take that as a compliment." He couldn't stop smiling at her. She reached for him, trying to get him out of his pants and when she felt him through the fabric she realised why he had gotten her to orgasm first. He was larger than average, and she wondered for a moment how easy or hard things might be from here. She slipped her hand inside his briefs and wrapped her hand around him, causing a cheeky grin to form on her lips as she did so. Now it was Castle's turn to moan. He very quickly had his pants off and was lying back down next to her. They began to kiss as her hand stroked him, the taste of her on his lips turning her on even more. It didn't take long and he was reaching into his nightstand drawer for what Kate assumed was a condom.

"No." She whispered to him. "You don't need it."

"Are you sure."

"I trust you, and I'm on protection."

Castle said a silent thank you to the powers that be before rolling back on top of this stunning woman. He kissed her again and again as he slowly slid inside of her. She fit like a glove.

"Oh…my….god" she whispered as she adjusted to his size. He was filling every inch of her. He stayed perfectly still for a few moments before starting to slowly move in and out of her. It wasn't long until Beckett began to move with him and they quickly found their rhythm.

"You feel incredible." He moaned against her lips. Rick never wanted this moment to end. He lifted one of her legs up so he could thrust deeper which made her gasp at every movement. He began to move faster inside of her again and again and it wasn't long before she was crying out his name for a second time. "Rick….I'm so close…."

"Kate…..oh god, Kate….." He kept thrusting into her until he felt her muscles clench around him in orgasm and he let go, shooting deep inside of her. The two of them stayed intertwined long after they had reached their climaxes. She leant up and kissed him softly and he kissed her back over and over.

"Why did we wait so long to do this?" Rick asked her as he rolled back onto his side of the bed. She moved up to lie on his chest and he wrapped his arms around her.

"No regrets Rick, from here I only want to move forward."

The two of them stayed in bed for the next couple of hours until Rick's phone began to ring. Gina's face came up on the caller ID.

Rick moaned. "I'd better get this." He put the phone to his ear. "Gina, to what do I owe this pleasure." He answered sarcastically. "Yes I am out of hospital. No I will not be attending the book launch next week, I need you to push it back another month. Because I will be in the Hamptons while I continue to recover from my brush with death. I don't care how you do it, so long as you do it. I so treasure these conversations Gina but I'll talk to you when I get back."

"Did you just hang up on your ex-wife Castle?" Beckett was smirking.

"No, I hung up on my publisher. I'll start packing and we can get on the road huh?"

It was then that the doorbell rang. Castle opened the door to find a courier with a very interesting package. He signed for it and thanked him before closing the door.

"Whatcha got?" Beckett asked from the kitchen, clad only in one of Castle's shirts.

"I'm not sure, are you going to get dressed?" He began tearing into the package and let out an excited shout when he found out what was inside.

"The first printed copy of Frozen Heat!"

Beckett crept up behind him and plucked it out of his hands. "Perfect reading material for the drive."

"Hang on, you can't read it before the release."

"Excuse me? You're going to make Nikki Heat herself wait for another month. I don't think so."

"And what am I going to get out of letting you read it early?"

Grinning, Beckett beckoned for him to come towards her with her index finger. "Get back in here and you might find out."

He chuckled. "We're not going to the beach-house today are we?" He moved towards her and she ran back into the bedroom encouraging him to chase her. She let him catch her of course giggling as he tackled her back onto the bed.

* * *

><p>A month later Castle and Beckett were back from their Hampton's holiday and sitting in the back of a limousine that was driving them to the biggest book launch of the year. He was dressed in a tuxedo and she was wearing a racy red dress complete with plunging neckline and slit that travelled up to her hip. They looked fit for the red carpet.<p>

"I can't tell you enough how happy I am that you're coming to this launch."

"Well we're in this together now. Just promise me you'll save me if I begin to make a fool of myself."

"Always." He grinned. "Shall we?" He offered her his arm, which she accepted graciously. He helped her out of the vehicle once they had arrived and he couldn't help but kiss her long and hard on the lips before they began their walk inside. The paparazzi didn't miss anything and their cameras were flashing immediately. Beckett didn't let it put her off and she could honestly say she didn't care that they would be all over the gossip columns the next day. She kissed him back with a smile. "I love you Rick."

"Not as much as I love you Kate."

"I'm still nervous about the reporters."

"They are all going to accept you into my world just as easily as you accepted me into yours." He assured her.

She scoffed as they began to walk towards the building. "Easily? What was that, I thought you said easily?"

He laughed before kissing her on the head as they walked inside for a night of glitz and glamour that marked the end of another chapter in Nikki Heat's life, and the beginning of a new chapter in Richard Castle's life, one that he now shared utterly and completely with Kate Beckett.


End file.
